cheato and mangrove

[eric faatz]

does anybody know if these are good for saltwater tanks or lowering nitrates levels?

 

[Jimbo7]

Yes, both are excellent for doing just that. They will require some supplemental lighting though if kept out of the DT, especially the mangrove.

 

[thincat]

I have done mangroves and IMO the nutrient transport through a couple well lets say 6 mangroves is to slow and really not worth the trouble. If you had it on a larger scale and in a seperate Fuge then it might work. You have to also watchout for the roots that can find the smallest of defects in your sealant and cause lots of problems. From what I have heard cheato is a really great macro algae as long as you harvest it on a regular bases.

 

[David S]

chaeto is very good under a small light in a sump or works fantastic under a MH,just keep it trimmed

 

[eric faatz]

will this help keeping my nitrates levels down,how much would i need for a 75gal fowlr tank.i have a20gal sump to.

 

[CaptainAhab]

The amount you need will level off. Those who have to trim it back constantly obviously have large amounts of nitrate/nutrients to be exported (only makes sense right? Needs it to grow.) I've had about a quart size bag in my sump for years for my 90 and even less than that in a newer established 90. Never trimmed. I consider it balanced nicely against the excess nutrients in my tank. You can generally get someone to mail you a qt size bag for $10-15. Look on RC and other reefer forums.

 

[Ziggy953]

I agree with TC! I have grown Mangroves as well and they are interesting and neat to see but for nutrient export you would have to have a lot of them.

I have seen a system that had a separate container just for mangroves. I believe he had about 60 4-6' trees growing behind his tank. It was a neat addition to his living space and I would say all of them combined help to lower excess nutrients in the system.

Go with Chaeto!

 

[cmor1701d]

Macro algae is the way to go. With mangorves not only do need a lot of them, but you need to remove the leaves as they fall to the water. If left in the water they will release all those nutrients right back into the water,

 

[David S]

I have chaetomorpha in my sump and trimming isn't done just because of over growing due to excess nutrients,In the case of Chaetomorpha, its only drawback, is the ability to fragment into short segments in place of a typical sexual event. Fragments of Chaetomorpha often break off the main colony and find their way into overflows and pumps, where they can clog the intakes and cause floods. To prevent this from occurring, trim Chaetomorpha frequently, routinely shake it free of any collected detritus, and expand or turn the mass of strands to allow all the cells access to light.I also trim it to give to other aquarist which would like some,so anyone want some if your near Oxford England

 

[kdogg85]

The chaeto is the way my friend. I have 2 fuges with it and the nitrates stay at zero. When I first put it in, it did grow like crazy, but after a couple months, both fuges have about a hacksaw sized slab in them and it still grows, but not as much as it did at first. I have 2 cf lights over each fuge and that seems to do the trick. And definitley turn over the mat or ball evry so often to help maintain equal growth.

 

[dannyb]

For macro to work, You have to trim it. Yes it draws in excess nutrients but you literally have to harvest the macro to get the nutrients out of the water.

 

[eric faatz]

where can i purchase it

 

[Jimbo7]

Your best bet is to not purchase it. Find a local reefer and usually people are glad to get rid of it. I was throwing giant balls of it out at one point. If not your LFS should probably have some. Someone here would probably ship you some if you pay for shipping, if i still had my huge stock, I would.

 

[CaptainAhab]

If you have a reefcentral id, look for it there..In the for sale/trade sections and in the regional forums. One trick is don't just look in your local forum, take a look thru a bunch of them. Most will ship a quart bag full for around $10. You take your chances with introducing any pests from the source tank. I've had the same gallon clump for years, never trimmed.